Stress is now the leading cause of long-term sickness absence in the workplace. 40% of employers saw stress-related absence increase in 2012 (1) resulting in:
92% of companies that introduced or revised wellbeing benefits saw a positive impact on absentee levels (7).
Organisations that evaluated the impact of their well-being spend were more than twice as likely to report they increased their well-being spend the following year compared with those who didn't evaluate well-being spend (45% compared with 20%), suggesting that evaluations tend to conclude that investing in wellbeing is worthwhile. (8)
The cost savings primarily come from improvement of morale in the workplace therefore general increase in staff retention saving on recruitment costs and reducing staff absentee days & presenteeism.
So, how does massage specifically increase staff productivity and reduce stress and tension? Research has shown regular massage can:
References:
1. CIPD/ Simply Health (2012) Absence Management Survey. 2. CIPD Truss, K., (2006) Working life: employee attitudes and engagement. 3. SCMH (2007) Mental Health at Work, developing the business case. 4. Work related Stress, Anxiety and depression Statistics in Great Britain 2016. http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/dayslost.htm 5. Confederation of British Industry (2005). 6. CIPD (2007) Recruitment, Retention and Turnover. 7. CIPD/ Simply Health (2014) Absence Management Survey. 8. CIPD/ Simply Health (2014) Absence Management Survey. 9. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8970662 : Adolescence. 1996 Winter;31(124):903-11. Field T1, Grizzle N, Scafidi F, Schanberg S. 10. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16162447 : International Journal of Neuroscience. 2005 Oct; 115[10]:1397-413. Field T1, Hernandez-Reif M, Diego M, Schanberg S, Kuhn C. 11. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ 8884390: International Journal of Neuroscience. 1996 Sep;86(3- 4):197-205. Field T1, Ironson G, Scafidi F, Nawrocki T, Goncalves A, Burman I, Pickens J, Fox N, Schanberg S, Kuhn C. 12. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/14660065 : International Journal of Neuroscience. 2004 Jan;114(1):31-44. Diego MA1, Field T, Sanders C, Hernandez-Reif M. 13. http://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/Citation/2000/ 01000/Immunological_Effects_of_Massage_Therapy_During.12.aspx Psychosomatic Medicine: January/February 2000 - Volume 62 - Issue 1 - pp 83-84; Immunological Effects of Massage Therapy During Academic Stress. Zeitlin, Diane LMT1; Keller, Steven E. PhD; Shiflett, Samuel C. PhD1; Schleifer, Steven J. MD; Bartlett, Jacqueline A. MD.
- 22% of employees describing their jobs as either “very” or “extremely” stressful (2)
- Loss of £600 per employee per year. (3)
- An average of 24 working days for each stress related absence (4)
- 11.7 million working days lost because of stress related sickness absence (4)
- £3.7 billion annual cost to employers of workplace stress (5)
- 14% of employee turnover was a direct result of work-related stress (6)
92% of companies that introduced or revised wellbeing benefits saw a positive impact on absentee levels (7).
Organisations that evaluated the impact of their well-being spend were more than twice as likely to report they increased their well-being spend the following year compared with those who didn't evaluate well-being spend (45% compared with 20%), suggesting that evaluations tend to conclude that investing in wellbeing is worthwhile. (8)
The cost savings primarily come from improvement of morale in the workplace therefore general increase in staff retention saving on recruitment costs and reducing staff absentee days & presenteeism.
So, how does massage specifically increase staff productivity and reduce stress and tension? Research has shown regular massage can:
- reduce depression (9)
- reduce stress and stress-related symptoms by decreasing cortisol and increasing dopamine and serotonin levels (10)
- reduce job stress through relaxation but increase alertness and performance accuracy in cognitive tasks (11)
- reduce anxiety and heart rate (12)
- improves circulation and immune system (13).
References:
1. CIPD/ Simply Health (2012) Absence Management Survey. 2. CIPD Truss, K., (2006) Working life: employee attitudes and engagement. 3. SCMH (2007) Mental Health at Work, developing the business case. 4. Work related Stress, Anxiety and depression Statistics in Great Britain 2016. http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/dayslost.htm 5. Confederation of British Industry (2005). 6. CIPD (2007) Recruitment, Retention and Turnover. 7. CIPD/ Simply Health (2014) Absence Management Survey. 8. CIPD/ Simply Health (2014) Absence Management Survey. 9. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8970662 : Adolescence. 1996 Winter;31(124):903-11. Field T1, Grizzle N, Scafidi F, Schanberg S. 10. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16162447 : International Journal of Neuroscience. 2005 Oct; 115[10]:1397-413. Field T1, Hernandez-Reif M, Diego M, Schanberg S, Kuhn C. 11. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ 8884390: International Journal of Neuroscience. 1996 Sep;86(3- 4):197-205. Field T1, Ironson G, Scafidi F, Nawrocki T, Goncalves A, Burman I, Pickens J, Fox N, Schanberg S, Kuhn C. 12. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/14660065 : International Journal of Neuroscience. 2004 Jan;114(1):31-44. Diego MA1, Field T, Sanders C, Hernandez-Reif M. 13. http://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/Citation/2000/ 01000/Immunological_Effects_of_Massage_Therapy_During.12.aspx Psychosomatic Medicine: January/February 2000 - Volume 62 - Issue 1 - pp 83-84; Immunological Effects of Massage Therapy During Academic Stress. Zeitlin, Diane LMT1; Keller, Steven E. PhD; Shiflett, Samuel C. PhD1; Schleifer, Steven J. MD; Bartlett, Jacqueline A. MD.